ERIC EDEN'S GK-10 SALVAGE CRAFT: A GAMING MINIATURE BY RAVENSTAR

Last September I posted these pics of my painted SALVAGE SHIP [in my own custom box], which had been kindly donated by reader Velbor. Mine was a pre-production sample. The ship is based on Eric Eden's fabulous GK-10 original design from the 1960's Fireball XL5 strip in TV21, below.

SPACEX fans will know that the design also surfaced as part of that toy range as well [the basis of my own model's colour scheme] pictured below.

Since last September Velbor has been working with US gaming miniatures studio RAVENSTAR to create a whole range of small-scale craft including the finished version of the Salvage Ship and a cool Fireball XL5 as pictured below. All are for sale.

 Visit RAVENSTAR here. You can read more about the Salvage Ship generally on the blog on this thread.

I would like to thank readers Grif and Nyrath the Nearly Wise for help with this feature.

IF IT'S ON THE MANTLEPIECE IT MUST BE GOOD

The new politics? Coalitions? Nothing new there. Back in the day there was only one alliance that counted - Andy Capp and Harold Wilson. Both of these fine upstanding gents reigned supreme on the telly room mantlepeice! Andy was a empty bubble bath container and Harold a small statue. Up the workers!

DELTA -X METAL SCRAMBLE BUG KIT

I thought I'd posted this in 2008 but I can't find it so here it is again, the amazing boxed and sealed DELTA-X scramble bug model kit. Originally found by WOTAN on Ebay. Now I am assuming it's Japanese but can anyone translate anything on the box?

SCRAMBLE ALL THE BUGS

To my knowledge these are all the SCRAMBLE BUGS, both toys and kits. They are as follows, pictured  sort of to an approx. scale (for more detail on each search for them individually on the blog):

1. Century 21 - plastic toy Hong Kong 1967

2. Hover - plastic toy, part of 'Moon Base' Hong Kong 1960's

3. Aoshima - plastic model, part of 'UFO Moon Base' kit, modern re-issue of 1960's Imai kit (no pic of    

    original model bug)

4. Imai - die-cast metal toy Japan 1960's

5. Delta-x - metal bolt-together kit (meccano stye) Japan, date unknown.
6. Takeuchi - rubber pencil eraser, part of bag full of various Sword erasers, Japan 1960's

DYNA-SOAR: THE RAREST OF ALL SWORD DESIGNS?

Are these the only two DYNA-SOAR toys ever made? I know there are model kits (Anagrand etc) but discounting them, is this it for toys? If so it would probably make the Dyna-Soar [along with the Nuclear Ferry] the least copied of all SWORD toys, as amazingly, there are even more Booster Rockets toys (C21, Hover, Spacex), Moon Ranger (C21, Tarheel and Italian Tarheel) and Scramble Bugs (C21, Hover miniature, Imai), which are themselves obscure in terms of replication. Any more Dyna-Soars?

Century 21 Dyna-Soar 1967

Space Voyagers miniature Dyna-Soar [far right] 2008

PS. On second thoughts I reckon the SCOUT 3 has no toy copies at all, making it the scarcest design.

PROJECT SCISSORS: X-20 DYNA-SOAR CARD MODEL

Further to the paper MOON PROSPECTOR model I posted last month, here's another cool paper model of the SWORD kind, THE X-20 DYNA-SOAR. A bit more complex but the same applies, the first to make the model and send me a pic will recieve a blog freebie gift! Go on, get your scissors out! Originally from the Papercraft Paradise website and translated from the Japanese, here are the instructions.

THE BICHI'S BACK: EXPLORADOR XV8

We've seen the Argentinian Moon Prospector before on the blog. What's new about this one, which recently surfaced on Ebay, is that rather than being manufactured by CHIBI [like my own] it was made by BICHI. It's just a single letter change in the name but the logo, on the right of the box, is the same! The description says "1960", which improbable as it is as a year of manufacture [he meant the 1960's] does suggest that BICHI was the earlier incarnation of CHIBI. The description sort of confirms this where it says "Re edited by Chibi in the 1970's".  

"XV8 PLANETARY PROSPECTOR SPACE TOY"

"EXPLORADOR PLANETARIO BICHI XV8"

"BICHI - ARGENTINA - 1960"

"VINTAGE SPACE TOY!. "XV8 PLANETARY PROSPECTOR SPACE TOY", IT`S A OLD HARD PLASTIC BATTERY OPERATED TOY WITH THE ORIGINAL BOX. INCLUDED ROTATING RADAR SCANNER. MADE IN ARGENTINA BY "BICHI", IN THE 60s (REEDITED IN 1970s BY "CHIBI"). THIS ARGENTINIAN CHIBI XV8 PLANETARY PROSPECTOR BOX HAS PROBABLY THE ONLY KNOW TRANSLATION OF THE FULL PROJECT SWORD TITTLE ON ANY NON-- ENGLISH TOY I.E SPACE WORLD ORGANIZATION FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT"

Anyone know the history of Argentina's BICHI / CHIBI toys?

THE MAD MONSTER PARTY: SUPERMONSTERATION

If you liked Trap Door the 80's cartoon, Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride and the old hit Monster Mash then you'll love this, Mad Monster Party. Made in 1967 it's the Grandaddy of them all. Think Gerry Anderson meets the Addams Family and you're getting close! Enjoy this 'Making of Part 1' courtesy of You Tube. Check out Part 2 there as well and better still get hold of the full movie! Yikes!